Love's Bitter Edge (Eva and Leonard)

"Mackenzie, what nonsense are you spewing now?"

Astrid angrily stepped forward, but I pulled her back to our workstations. There was no point in arguing with someone like Mackenzie-she would only drag us down to her level. Right now, the priority was the Gray Realty project.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Let's focus on finishing the overall concept first," I said. "Gray Realty's team is supposed to visit today. If all goes well, they might sign the contract."

The project lead from Gray Realty had messaged me earlier, explaining that they were waiting for their boss' approval to proceed. It wasn't going to be a straightforward deal.

After realizing we were ignoring her, Mackenzie shifted her snide remarks to the rest of the team. She was like a bad apple spoiling the bunch, dragging down everyone's mood. She loved flaunting her status as the "CEO's sister" but barely contributed anything meaningful. On top of that, her sloppy work was full of mistakes that we had to clean up, often by staying late.

I couldn't help but wonder how someone from a top-tier university could be this incompetent.

By mid-morning, I couldn't stay silent anymore when Mackenzie submitted a half-finished file yet again.

"Ms. Mack Lenon, could you please take this more seriously? It's been an entire morning, and you haven't even finished one design?"

Mackenzie glanced at my completed work, guilt flashing briefly across her face. "You said I had until this afternoon. I'll submit it on time," she muttered.

"It's not about the deadline," I said, putting her file back on her desk. "Your design isn't complete, and this is a team effort. You'll drag the whole department down if you don't step up."

I kept my tone calm but firm. "You

keep saying you want to stay in this company right? If that's true, you might

Co want to start prioritizing the

company's interests. Otherwise, it's not exactly the behavior one expects from the 'CEO's sister.""

Her face flushed red, then pale, as my words struck home. She glared at me but begrudgingly took the file back. "Fine. I'll fix it. What's the rush? Do you think you were born with your skills? Didn't it take you years of work experience to get this good?"

I ignored her grumbling and headed back to my desk.

Just as I was settling in, an employee from a five-star hotel arrived with afternoon tea. "Ms. Surrey, today's delivery includes fruit tea and strawberry pudding."

All eyes in the office turned toward me as Astrid tried to stifle her laughter in the corner.

I sighed quietly. Jack really didn't know when to quit.

Mackenzie's expression darkened when she saw the same employee who had previously demanded payment from her. "What are you showing off for? You probably spent your whole paycheck on this, she sneered, glaring at me and then at the hotel employee.

The hotel employee maintained a professional smile, which only made Mackenzie angrier. "Go ahead, enjoy it! I won't forget how you made me pay last time. From now on, McLennon Group will not have anything to do with your hotel again!" The hotel employee, unfazed, smiled and left without responding. After all, they knew the truth-Jack ordered the tea, not me.

Mr. Finnley stepped out of his office, casting a cold glance in my direction. "It really is great being a woman. You don't even have to try, and someone's already sending you expensive afternoon tea."

I accepted the tea and returned to my desk to avoid further conflict.